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Opto ESC and Ardupilot: really need BEC?

Posted by Rnold on March 10, 2014 at 7:51am

Hi,

I am building a DJI-F450 with Opto ESC's and an Ardupilot 2.6. I read in a lot of forums that a BEC is needed and I wondered for what? The Ardupilot is powered by the power module and the Opto's are powered directly by the battery, a 3S LiPo. They can take up to 4S. The signal lines are powered by the Ardupilot, 5V if I am correct. If I need a BEC for that I need at least 4, one for each motor. Could someone explain me for what I need the BEC and if I need one, how to connect it?

Thanks in advance!

Arnold

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Replies

Rnold March 10, 2014 at 1:54pm

Thanks! I presume that should be sufficient for the signals to the Opto ESC's as the real power for an ESC is drawn from the PDB.
Mike Boland March 10, 2014 at 12:04pm

It depends on what you are powering from the APM.

If you are running no servo outputs, ie : no servo pan and tilt, servo release or servo control of anything. then no, you don't need anything else.

The power Module is sufficient for the APM and low power peripherals, such as RC Rx, GPS, and radio comms.

I believe the Power module is rated to 500mAh, so if you are drawing less than that you will be fine.